"A stick loudly snaps as I move through the undergrowth, roots and fallen branches beneath my feet, and the forest's green summertime leaves hanging overhead."
"No less noisy as we carry ourselves up past the foothills is Hisao, walking a couple of yards behind to let me navigate the barely visible path. Each of us uses a hastily-found stick as a trekking pole, which has helped us make pretty good progress up the hill so far."
"I'm reasonably confident that said progress has been in the right direction. Nothing more than a trail of worn ground from previous travellers, the path we follow has very nearly faded back into the bushes and leaves thanks to nobody coming through here for so long."
"Our movement disturbs a bird who'd been resting in a low branch, annoyed chirping ringing out with a slight echo as it flutters past us."
his "You sure it's alright not to ask Suzu to come along?"
mik "She's probably going to sleep for ages, and besides, can you really imagine her wanting to do this?"
his "...Good point."
"The two of us continue walking, looking at this and that as we move. It doesn't look like this pace is too hard for Hisao, as he isn't showing any signs of slowing."
"This reminds me a lot of jogging around the track at Yamaku, come to think of it. Pushing myself onwards, with a feeling of accomplishment coming from the fatigue. The humidity is also pretty nice, with the moisture in the air trapped beneath the canopy."
mik "Say, have you ever done this before? Hiking, camping, seeing the great outdoors?"
his "Sure. Not really my thing, but I've done it."
mik "Wait, really? I thought you were some super urban kind of kid."
his "There are these things called cars, and trains for that matter. They can take you out of the city."
his "Let's see... I've been around Hakone a couple of times on family trips. Nice place for relaxing in a hot spring after a day of hiking, actually. Had a flight down to Okinawa once, as well."
mik "You've flown? That's awesome!"
his "It's not that unusual these days."
mik "What's it like? C'mon, tell me."
"Taken off guard by my enthusiasm, he struggles a little to get his words together."
his "That's actually kinda hard to answer."
his "There's a lot of waiting around, for one. Waiting in lines, waiting at the terminal, waiting at the gate, waiting for takeoff."
his "Then once you're in the air, you're really just siitting in a metal tube for a few hours. Your ears go all funny from the changing pressure, and your eyes dry out from the recirculated air. The food's pretty miserable, too."
his "And don't get me started on crying kids, or being stuck next to some chatty person for ages when you just want to watch an inflight movie or look out the window."
mik "Huh. So it's not all that great, then."
his "It's incredibly cool. Despite all that, it still manages to be fantastic."
"Hisao sounds really keyed up about it. Not that I don't understand; just the idea of a massive machine lifting hundreds of people into the sky and putting them back down again blows my mind."
mik "So you'd be up for a sixteen hour flight to the Big Apple?
his "...Maybe it's not that cool."
"My smile drops as I remember what part of the hike we're nearing. Sure enough, the next few yards mean walking along a particularly narrow ridge running alongside a steep drop. It'd be damn near suicidal in bad weather, as you'd be a goner if you slipped."
"I reflexively step back as a familiar dropping feeling inside my gut comes over me. Hisao steps alongside, putting a hand on my shoulder to steady me as he peers over. The bastard doesn't look phased by the sight at all."
his "Maybe a plane trip wouldn't be the best idea for someone like you."
mik "Just shut up and let me focus."
"I pull my shoulder from his grasp and force myself to continue walking, doing my best not to look down. So what if I don't like heights; it's not that uncommon, right?"
"My legs and arms are tense as I gingerly place step after step, every bit of my mental strength focused on keeping my eyes pinned forwards. Hisao, thankfully, keeps his mouth shut and lets me take this at my own pace."
"This is fine. I can do this. Just one foot ahead of the other."
"I breath a sigh of relief as the path winds back away from the ledge, taking a few gasps of air as I lean against the trunk of a large tree and wait for Hisao to catch up."
"He flashes a smile at me once he does, the two of us continuing on."
"The slowly rising angle we have to walk up does nothing to stop the wildlife, the undergrowth around us getting thicker if anything. The odd squark and cry from this bird or that can be heard, and the shaking of a bush here and there reminds us that we're far from alone."
"Noticing that Hisao's footsteps have stopped, I look back to see what's holding him up. Turns out he's paused to look at a lizard sunbathing on the side of a rock."
"Looking slightly embarrassed at my having noticed him, he quickly falls in behind me once more."
his "Are you sure you know where we're going?"
mik "How long have I lived here? Of course I know the way."
his "If you say so. I know i said I hiked before, but there aren't any paths at all."
mik "There are, you just need to know where to look."
"My confidence seems to settle him down, and if we're where I think we are, it shouldn't take long to prove my case."
"Sure enough, in the distance I can see sunlight breaking through the line of trees. Just a little further, and we should reach the spot."
"Emerging from the forest into the clearing, Hisao and I stop side by side to take in the sight. A couple of fallen logs stripped of their branches and laid either side of a stone campfire pit lay in the center, with an old tire hung from a branch by a fraying rope to the side."
"Near my feet sits a faded 'keep out' sign, the pole attached to it having come out of the ground during some storm or another. We probably didn't follow building standards all that well when we hammered it into the ground."
"A few other bits and pieces we dragged up here to make the place feel a little more like our own lie strewn about, though most have been blown away or stolen."
"Still, I'm kind of impressed this much is left. A little testament to our friendship, still surviving so long after we left."
his "I'm guessing you had a hand in this?"
mik "Sure did. Used to be more impressive, but the fact anything's still here is a bit of a surprise."
mik "Now do you trust that I know my way around?"
his "Alright, you win. Let's eat."
"Sound like a solid plan. Hisao goes to one log as I walk to the other, propping my trusty stick against it and undoing the zip to my backback and rifling around for the rice balls I packed. Managing to grasp the small bag they're in with the tips of my fingers, I pull them out as I take a seat."
"Hisao unclips the bag slung around his shoulder, lifting the flap and grabbing a bottle filled with water. I'm glad to have a chance to rest my legs, but it's Hisao I'm more worried about. Now that he's seated, that terrible wheeze he sometimes gets has returned."
mik "Doing okay? You look pretty beat."
"He takes a big gulp of water before answering, wiping his mouth with his sleeve."
his "Yeah, I'm fine. Just needed a breather."
"I almost offer if he'd prefer to turn back after we're done here, but think better of it. He'd just say we should keep going, regardless of whether he was having chest problems or not."
"It worries me, but it also makes me admire him a little. It's easy to be all gung-ho when you're a fit peson in the prime of your life, but Hisao pushes himself hard all the time despite his condition, both around here and on the track at Yamaku."
"Maybe that's why he's such a balanced person. After all, he has a good, sensible head on his shoulders, is reasonably fit given everything that's happened to him, and is smart enough to be Mutou's pet in class. He might be a bit awkward socially, but at least he tries to be outgoing."
"Just an all-round good kid, really. Too bad that doesn't mean shit when life decides to screw you over."
his "Any good?"
mik "Hmm?"
his "The rice balls."
mik "Oh, right. Guess they're okay."
his "Did you make them, or what?"
mik "Yeah. It's kinda hard to mess up rice balls, though."
his "True."
"Well, there is one thing about him I don't like; that tendency of his to so visibly think about what he wants to say. The topic of cooking's put something into his head, but he won't come out with it."
mik "What's up?"
his "I was trying to put this tactfully, but I guess that's unnecessary when it comes to you."
"I give a disarming smile at his attitude. He takes it as permission to go on."
his "Is your mother, uh..."
"Oh, it's just that. I probably should have said something about it to him before it became the elephant in the room."
"COme to think of it, I wonder how long that's been on his mind, and Suzu's for that matter. Don't tell me he's been trying to ask me about that for the entire time he's been here..."
mik "Man, you don't need to pussyfoot around that stuff."
mik "It's not much of a story, to be honest. My mother ditched me and dad when I was really young. About three years old, I think."
his "She just left?"
mik "Yep, up and left. Got her stuff, walked out the door, and that was the last either of us ever saw or heard of her again."
his "Geez. That's rough."
"I just shrug. It is what it is. Not like I was old enough to understand what was going on, or even to really remember the event in the first place."
"Leaning forwards with my arm outstretched to offer some rice balls to Hisao, he takes a couple and starts grazing on them."
his "Do you ever wonder where she is now? Whether you might be able to contact her somehow?"
mik "She could be dead in a ditch for all I care. Why would I give a shit about someone who abandoned their own baby and left her husband heartbroken?"
"I don't have any trace of anger in my voice, but the idea obviously puts Hisao off. I don't blame him; I've long since come to accept that my situation is different to the vast majority of people out there. That's not their fault, nor mine."
his "You might have a half-sister or half-brother, though."
"That's not a terrible argument, but I already know my answer."
mik "I guess I've never put that much weight on blood ties."
mik "Having a sister would've been kinda nice, though. A younger one, so I could dote on her and be the cool older sis."
his "Yeah, I could see that."
mik "What about you? Only child, right?"
his "Yeah, no sisters or brothers for me."
his "I dunno, I think I'm pretty okay with it. I'm good with kids, but I don't know about growing up beside one."
mik "So you're the fatherly type, huh?"
his "I could see myself with kids, yeah. Having a family would be good."
his "What's with that face?"
mik "Were you born forty years old?"
his "Some of us can look further into the future than the next meal, you know."
"I just laugh. He's not wrong, really."
"Finishing his last rice ball and putting away his bottle, Hisao clips up his bag and takes to his feet, collecting his trekking pole before walking over and offering me a hand up."
his "Good to go?"
mik "You know it."
# Timeskip
"The trek takes its toll on our legs as we push ourselves along, the incline up the hill now quite severe. Not only that, but the overgrown roots sticking out of the ground and uneven rocks leading upwards force us to be careful that we don't break or twist an ankle."
"It's painful, but not all pain is bad. From the way Hisao's holding onto his waist, it looks like he's in more pain than I, having developed a stitch. Better that than a heart problem, I suppose."
his "How... far is it... to go?"
mik "Stop whining, you big baby."
his "That's easy... for you to say."
"Hisao pushes himself a little harder after I've scolded him, despite what he says. At least his awkwardness about being beat out physically by a girl has finally disappeared."
"More and more rays of sunshine manage to peek through the leaves overhead, casting spots of light on the lush green bushes around us."
"My heart is beginning to beat faster and faster, but it isn't from exhaustion. We're so nearly there. Just a little further now."
"The look of the area's changed a fair bit from when I was last in this spot, but that's only natural given the surroundings dying off and regrowing. Something about it feels familiar, though. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's there."
"The feeling of tiredness in my muscles slowly begins to fade from my mind, as do the sounds of the birds and other wildlife. Dropping my makeshift pole, it takes some effort not to run the last of the distance, anticipation filling my body."
"Sunlight assaults my eyes as I emerge through the treeline, forcing me to squint heavily. As my eyes adjust, the sight before me is just as tremendous as I'd hoped."
"I hear Hisao come up behind me, gasping wordlessly at the view."
"From where we stand, the entire town can be seen below. The breeze brushes past us as we stand and stare, taking in the vast fields and the narrow roads between them. Old wooden farmhouses, some newely restored, others run-down from old age. The river cutting through the valley, acting as a vital artery to the entire town. Telephone poles with wires hanging loosely, running alongside the streets."
"I can't help but give a whistful smile as I turn back to Hisao."
mik "Welcome to my home, Hisao."
mik "My entire life is down there, you know. Where I was born, where I played and where I went to school. Where I found a dream, and had it dashed. Where I made friends, and lost friends. It might not be much, but it's mine."
"I take a long breath to steady myself. It's not often I get emotional, but after so long, I just can't help it."
mik "This is why I brought you here, Hisao. I did get kinda wrapped up in my own nostalgia for the place, but in the end, we managed to get here."
"I bring my arms out wide before letting them fall back to my sides."
mik "This is me."
"Hisao just looks wordlessly at my smiling face, before letting himself fall to the ground with a thud. Completely exhausted, he just sits with his hands on the ground behind him, looking into my eyes as he pants and sweats heavily."
"Now that I think of it, I must look a total mess right now, too. Sweat's all over me, and I can feel a couple of hairs stuck to my face. That fact quickly becomes unimportant as I look into Hisao's eyes, suddenly noticing something different inside of them."
his "I can't take this any more! You win already!"
mik "Huh? What're you goin' on about?"
"He pauses to take some much-needed air, before looking to me with a face full of both exhaustion and... a warmth that I've never seen him have before."
his "I love you, Miki."
"My heart stops. No, it would be more correct to say the whole world around me stops."
"With me taken completely by surprise, it's Hisao who fills the silence."
his "I've completely fallen for you. I don't know if this can go anywhere, but I can't take this any longer."
his "You've shown me so much, that I feel like a child seeing the world for the first time all over again. I want to keep on seeing new things, too."
his "And I want to see them with you, together."
"Questions slowly begin to fill my mind. How long has he liked me? What should I say? What do I do? Should I have noticed his feelings before now? We had a good thing going with our friendship, but could we ever go back to it now?"
"But somehow... none of those questions really seem to matter. All that I can think about, is the boy sitting before me, eyes full of weariness, hope, and love. Nobody's ever looked at me with such a face before."
"So that's Hisao's judgement, after seeing all this. I showed him everything, and what he felt from that, was love."
"It's kinda funny. So much so that I start laughing. I don't really know why it's funny at all, but it just so seems inexplicably hilarious that I can't stop. Hisao just looks up at me luke a buffoon, unable to interpret my response at all."
"I take a deep breath to collect myself, smiling down at him."
mik "You sure make a terrible Romeo."
"He just hangs his head at the quip. He might not exactly be the most poetic type, nor the most manly in sweeping me off my feet... but that's fine. For good or bad, he's Hisao."
"I offer him a hand, which he takes as he levers himself back up."
"With the two of us side by side on the peak of the hill overlooking the town, I sling my arm around his neck."
mik "'Together', huh?"
mik "That doesn't sound so bad when you say it."